It’s been a miserable decade for Australian households

Monday 8 June 2026

The past decade has been a basket case for Australian households

According to the March quarter national accounts, released last week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), real per capita household disposable income—arguably the strongest indication of material living standards—declined by 0.6% over the quarter to be tracking 3.6% lower than the COVID-19 peak:

So far this decade, real per capita household disposable income has climbed by only 0.65% per year, the weakest decade-average growth recorded since the late 1950s.

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.